The government is giving special support to irrigation development

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The processing of applications is ongoing, and the goal of the Ministry of Agriculture is to ensure that as many projects as possible receive support in this popular call. The Minister said that the winning irrigation development investments contribute to the growth of irrigated areas along the lines of water retention, sustainable management of our water resources, and economical irrigation technologies.

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Although the application of many good agrotechnologies already helps to retain water and improve soil conditions, continuous irrigation development is also necessary in order to strengthen crop and food security. According to István Nagy, the introduction of water-saving irrigation technologies and the expansion of irrigated areas will continue to play a key role in preserving the stability and increasing the competitiveness of domestic agricultural enterprises in the future. For all these reasons, the Ministry of Agriculture continues to encourage the spread of irrigation development investments with several measures and non-refundable support within the framework of the CAP Strategic Plan. This year, the ministry has also announced two calls for proposals, the aim of which is to ensure the supply of water in cultivated areas exposed to significantly changed climatic conditions. The focus was on supporting technical solutions that take into account the scarcity of surface and groundwater resources and, accordingly, result in maximum water savings. Within the framework of the call for applications entitled “Support for investments within agricultural holdings that improve the efficiency of irrigation development and water use”, the maximum amount of support that could be requested was 200 million forints. A total of 461 applications were submitted by farmers to the call, which ended at the end of September and included four submission stages, worth almost 33 billion forints. The processing of applications is ongoing, and decisions will continue at the beginning of next year. The ministry will support all small-amount applications that meet the eligibility criteria and reach the minimum score limit set in the call – István Nagy emphasized.

AM